Video transcript
The Arts Unit @home Art Bites – African dance performance – 2. West African movement

[music playing]

LUCKY LARTEY: Hi everyone. This is Lucky Lartey here, originally from Ghana, West Africa. Today, we're going to be doing the second series of the West African traditional dance.

This series is going to be a little bit more upper level from what we did last week, from what we did in the first series, and also you're going to be hearing a lot of drumming language. I'm not going to be counting so much, I'm going to be using the drumming language. So when you hear something like prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pa-la-la, which is 1, 2, 3, 4, we started dancing.

So let's try that. Let's try and see. Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pim, pi, pa! Yeah? 1, 2, 3, 4, 1. OK? Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pa-la-la. Ha, and I'm going to continue doing four of these, so second beat up, ah. Second, then one, ah, and when we jump you're going on your toe, and then ah, eh.

Yeah, so I'm going to do the four together. Yeah? I'm going to count and I'm going to use the drum language. For first, we go 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pim-pim, pa, pa, pa, pa. Last one. Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pim-pim, pa, pa, pa, pa. Yeah, four of them we'll finish here, and what we're going to be doing in this bit is we're going to flip our feet up and down, and flip it forward.

Yeah, so we're going in 1 and 2, with our arm goes like this. Eagle, and then a clap, so you go like and 1, 2. Last one. We're doing two of that, yeah? So we'll try one more time. 1, 2, and we're going up on four. 1, 2, 3, 4. Yeah? Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pim-pim, pa, pi, pa, pi. Yeah? So we've put the two together, which is from ah.

We use count and then we use the drum language, yeah? 1, 2, 3, 4. Pa, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 2, and 3, and 4. Yeah? Prim-pe-dim, pim-pe-dim, pim-pim, pa, pim, pim, pa, ti, pa, pi, pa, pi, pa, pi, pa. OK? We're putting music on, and then we'll try and see.

[music playing]

1, 2, 3, 4. Yeah? 1, 2, 3, 4, 1. Now four of them. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4, and up and count, and up and count. Yeah? One more time.

1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4, and up and ti, eh, ah, and ti. Yeah? Now we'll try the music.

1, 2, 3. Yeah?

And then we do a turn, and we go to this side, we go. 1, 2, 3, 4. Yeah? One more time. 1, 2, 3, 4. We're going to try and go to the music next thing.

1, 2, 3, 4. 2, 3, 4. Yeah? One more time. 1, 2, 3, 4. Beautiful.

We put this three things together, and. First beat, second, and then turn and go around like that. Yeah? OK? Try with the music. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2 3. Then, and two. 1, 2. Yeah?

Let's try super slow without our music. Yeah? 1, 2, 3, 4. Da, da, prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa, ti, pa, eh, pa, ti, pose, and 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Yeah?

We'll try a little bit faster because the music is fast. [snaps] 1, 2, 3, 4. Da, da, 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and 1, 2, 3, 4.

When we get here, we step on the left, then we go 1, step right, 2, step to the left, 3, 4. Beautiful! Do it one more time.

1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Prim-pe-ti, pe-ti, pe-ti, pa, pa, pa, pa. Yeah? So let's try from the ti, which is 1, 2, 3, 4. Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4. Again. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4. Yeah? We'll try slowly.

[music playing]

1, 2, 3, here we go! 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. And 1, and 2, turn around. Beautiful! Again, one more time. 1, 2, 3. Beautiful! One more time. 1, 2, 3. Step. Beautiful!

Let's try super slow. Forget about the music. With me. 1, 2, 3, 4. Ta, 2, 3, 4. And 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4. One more time super slow. 1, 2, 3, 4. Up, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 2, and then 1, 2, 3, 4. Step, 1, 2, 3, 4. Beautiful!

With the music. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. Beautiful! One more time. 1, 2, 3. Yeah? Beautiful! Alright, we try it one more time, then we'll do the next bit. 1, 2, 3. Beautiful!

Alright, now I'm going to the next bit. It's very easy. We finish here. We go step, then we go like step, 1, 2. Yeah? Step, side, back, then we go forward. Yeah? 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Yeah? So 3, 3, and 4. 3, and 4. 1, 2, 3, and 4. So when we step, we go side, bring our arms back like that, then we go up. So it's step to there, back, up, pum.

1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3. We go with the music. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4. Last one. 1, 2, 3, 4. Beautiful!

So let's do it from the 10 slowly. 10, 10, 10, 10. Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4. Then we go step. Yeah? Step 4, step, side, back, forward, ah. Yeah? One more time?

1, 2, 3, 4. And 1, 2, 3, 4, step, 1, 2, 3, 4.

We pull from top. Slowly, without the music. Yeah? Let's go. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa, pa, prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa, pi, pa, then 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1, 2, 3, and 4. Beautiful!

One more time from the same place, a little bit more faster. 1, 2, 3, 4. Ta, ta, Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa, pa, pi. Yeah? So we did some using the drum language to play all the transitions. Yeah?

One more time without, and then we go with the music. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti, pa, ti, ta, ta. Yeah? We'll try with the music two more times, then we'll finish.

[music playing]

1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Forward. One more time. Prim-pe-tim, pe-tim, pe-ti. Ah, ti, ti, ta. One more time. 3. 1, 2, 3. Last one. 1, 2, 3.

Thank you very much. This is the second series. I hope you've had a lot of fun. Make sure when you finish the class, you take enough water, warm down, and I hope to see you in the test series. Thank you very much. Ciao.